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Honda Indy Toronto 2016 Results: 5 things we learned

By Jennifer Chiarello

FONTANA, CA - AUGUST 30: Scott Dixon of New Zealand driver of the
FONTANA, CA - AUGUST 30: Scott Dixon of New Zealand driver of the /
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1. Will Power continues to chip away at Simon Pagenaud’s points lead

Power sat out the first race of the season with concussion like symptoms and since, has been playing catch-up in the points.

He entered Toronto 75 points behind leader Simon Pagenaud.  Power’s win combined with a ninth place finish for Pagenaud cut the deficit to 47 points.  However, with only five races remaining in the season, it may not be enough.

2. Josef Newgarden’s string of dominate comes to an end

Josef Newgarden’s wreck at Texas on June 12 left him with a broken right hand and a broken collar bone.  While doctor’s expected him to miss 1-2 races, Newgarden instead fought through the pain to an eighth place finish at Road America and a dominate victory at Iowa.

However, hitting the wall hard on lap 58, handed Newgarden a DNF for Toronto and dropped him to fifth in the points—88 behind Pagenaud.

3. Andretti Autosport continues to struggle

Andretti Autosport fields the teams of Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Raey, Carlos Munoz and Alexander Rossi.  In 2016, the team has amassed only five top-5 finishes and one win (Alexander Rossi at Indianapolis).

Once a dominate team, Andretti Autosport continues to put together lackluster finishes once again failing to place a car in the top-5.

4. Hometown hero James Hinchcliff finished on the podium

James Hinchcliff is from Oakville, Ontario which is less than 30 miles from Toronto. Although he started the race off rough barely managing to eclipse the top 10, pitting before the caution brought out by Newgarden on lap 58 cycled him to  a third place podium finish.

“For once we caught a lucky break in Toronto”– James Hinchcliff

With this finish, Hinchcliff moved up five spots in the points.

5. The last five races of the season are set to be an epic points battle

Before Toronto, Simon Pagenaud led the points by a comfortable 73 point margin over Joseph Newgarden and 75 points over Will Power.  However, after Toronto, Pagenaud’s lead has shrunk to just 47 points over Power, now in second.

In two weeks, IndyCar is back in action at Mid-Ohio. The newly tightened points battle will guarantee that both Pagenaud and Power will be racing hard.

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